Tapping
by Charlie'sLostVampire
Summary: Nothing irritated Tony Stark more than the incessant sound of tapping...


Tony Stark had never had any problems when it came to women. Whether it was his looks, charm, of the fact that he had enough money to fly to the moon and back, they flocked to him. But they were all the _wrong _kinds of women. Of course, not wrong in the looks department; Tony had yet to meet a woman who coveted him that he wouldn't spend at least one night with. But they were wrong in the sense of what they wanted him _for. _

One-night stands. Everyone knew it was what he specialized in. Especially Pepper, seeing as though she was usually the one who ended up "taking out the trash" once he was finished with it. But, deep down, deep deep _deep _down, Tony was like every other human being. He wanted companionship. He wanted to actually wake up with whomever he slept with last night, and not regret their likely intoxicated romp. He wanted pet names and simple gestures. He wanted a girl who would be satisfied with simply being his, and that he wouldn't have to buy a car for every week to keep her by his side, and-

"Mr. Stark?"

"Hmm?"

Tony looked up from the Newton's cradle that was tapping its shiny silver balls together on his desk and met the blue eyes and raised eyebrow of Pepper Potts. "Oh, Potts," he said, sitting up a bit straighter and fixing his suit jacket. "What is it?"

Her eyebrow was still elevated as she examined the rather irritating tapping objects on his desk. "Where did you get that? You hate distractions."

"It was expensive, so I bought it," he remarked, shrugging, trying to hide the fact that she was right. He _despised _distracting desk ornaments, and had practically forbid them from being placed on any flat surface in Stark Industries. Yet, here it was; the king of all annoying objects, sat right in front of him. By his own choice, of all things.

"Of course you did," Pepper said, shaking her head and taking a few steps into the posh, furnished office, "and now you're regretting it."

"I never regret a purchase," Tony said, frowning slightly.

"Oh?" she asked, taking another step forward. "How about those floating pool lights that turned your entire swimming pool into a deathbed of electricity?"

"A simple miscalculation in the conversion of the electrons."

"And those _Jurassic Park_ robots that trashed your penthouse when you lost control?"

"The screenplay for the next movie."

"What about that automatic office chair that nearly chucked you out the thirtieth floor window when you pushed the wrong button? Was _that_ a good purchase?"

"The instructions were poorly written. The product itself simply needed a few improvements, and the prototype is going to make me millions in a few more months."

Tony was grinning victoriously from behind his desk, and Pepper shook her head, hiding her exasperation with a very plastered smile. "Your four o'clock is here. If you don't hurry, you'll be late."

"I'm always late," Tony said, swiveling in his chair and Pepper glanced at the clock, releasing a sigh.

"Will that be all?"

Tony's gaze had reverted back to the tapping balls, and he nodded absentmindedly. "That will be all, Ms. Potts."

Turning on her heel, Pepper exited the office, closing the door behind her. Tony lasted roughly fifteen seconds after she was gone before he reached out and grabbed the irritating tapping objects, one of his brown eyes twitching slightly. "So _irritating. _Why were you even invented?"

Shaking his head, Tony got to his feet and headed for the door, stepping out into the hallway. If he sat in that office with that _thing _for another minute, he was going to break something. So, he figured he would head down to his meeting. Wouldn't Pepper be surprised? Tony Stark actually showing up _on time _for something.

But, just his luck, his four o'clock happened to be running late. So, it was just him and Pepper sitting in the board room, the only sound being the endless tapping of Pepper's fingers on the keys of her laptop.

_Tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap tap. Tap._

Tony's fingers were drumming against the table as he listened to the sound, his eye twitched again. _Tap tap tap…_

"Pepper, that's very annoying," he commented and she paused in her typing to look up at him.

"What is, Mr. Stark?"

"That _tapping,_" he said, and she raised a sculpted eyebrow.

"My working is annoying you? Funny; _you _were the one who wanted these documents finished."

"But can't you do it more _quietly?_"

"No, sir, I can't. Not unless you want it to take about ten hours longer."

Tony scowled as she went back to work, staring across the room at a vibrant oil painting that had likely been chosen by Pepper herself. Pepper always chose all of his art, whether it be for home, or one of the many office buildings that Stark Industries owned. While he was especially good at sketching blueprints, Tony was what Pepper liked to call… culturally challenged. After all; she'd nearly thrown a fit when he'd tried to hang up one of his Iron Man portraits.

_Tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap. Tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap…_

She was at it again. It seemed like the more she typed, the more that incredibly annoying tapping from the silver balls crept into his mind, until the only thing he could hear was a deafening _tapping…_

"For the love of God, Potts, if you don't stop that tapping, I will _make _you stop!"

"Oh, really? I'd like to see you-"

Pepper didn't get the chance to finish her sentence. When she hadn't stopped typing the second Tony asked, he'd snapped and grabbed her shoulders, using the one thing he knew always silenced a woman; his tongue.

Pepper's laptop had slipped from her lap and clattered to the floor, and she made a small noise of protest, but Tony was beyond listening. He continued to kiss her, to kiss _Pepper _until she was returning the motion of his lips with hungry desperation, a small groan sounding in her throat. It was only a matter of seconds before she found her back pressed against the polished mahogany table with Tony Stark perched above her, trailing his lips along her jawline and down her throat.

"Tony," she muttered breathlessly as she tilted her head to the side, feeling his fingers slipping into her hair, freeing it from its tight bun. "This is wrong…"

"Like hell it is," he grumbled as he trailed his lips back to hers, kissing her fervently. There was no way kissing Pepper was wrong; it felt more _right _than anything ever had. She knew him like the back of her hand; the _real _Tony Stark, not the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist the media thought they knew. She was different from all the other women; she was _Pepper. _Pepper knew that he loved buying video games, yet almost never played any of them. She knew he hated peanut butter, and would only brush his teeth with spearmint toothpaste…

Spearmint toothpaste which was currently invading her taste buds as he tasted each corner of her mouth, her legs locked around his waist. Tony Stark was kissing her. He was _actually kissing her. _How many times had she fantasized about this? Too many to count. It just didn't make any sense. She was the one who sent extravagant gifts to girls to win them over for Tony; the one who got rid of said girls when he was finished with them. She was never, _ever_ one of those girls.

Yet, clearly, she was. But, at the same time, she never would be. Not to Tony. Pepper would never be one of _those _girls. Unlike them, he actually cared about her. He cared about her feelings, what she thought of him… he…

He loved her.

"Ms. Potts," he breathed in her ear as he trailed his hand down her side, slipping it beneath her blouse to feel her skin. "Cancel the rest of my meetings for today, would you? Something just… came up."

Shivering, Pepper nodded as he pulled her to her feet.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Oh, no…" he whispered, pulling her in for another kiss, brushing his lips over hers. "We've barely even started…"


End file.
